Streamlined property insurance application and renewal process

ABSTRACT

An insurance data gathering process contingent upon dynamically captured image and informatics sensor data. The captured image data may be used to facilitate rapid insurance-related decisions. In regards to a decision to be rendered for a property insurance policy, at least one image is retrieved associated with the property. One or more accounts associated with the insured are identified and one or more risks characteristics are identified regarding the insured. An aggregated dataset is provided from the at least one image, one or more accounts and risk characteristics associated with the insured. Predictive analysis is performed on the aggregated dataset to render a risk profile for the insured regarding an insurance policy for the property. A decision is rendered regarding the insured and the insurance policy based at least in-part upon the rendered risk profile.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. Nos.61/886,779 filed Aug. 16, 2013; 61/926,093 filed Jan. 10, 2014;61/926,091 filed Jan. 10, 2014; 61/926,095 filed Jan. 10, 2014;61/926,098 filed Jan. 10, 2014; 61/926,103 filed Jan. 10, 2014;61/926,108 filed Jan. 10, 2014; 61/926,111 filed Jan. 10, 2014;61/926,114 filed Jan. 10, 2014; 61/926,118 filed Jan. 10, 2014;61/926,119 filed Jan. 10, 2014; 61/926,121 filed Jan. 10, 2014;61/926,123 filed Jan. 10, 2014; 61/926,536 filed Jan. 13, 2014;61/926,541 filed Jan. 13, 2014; 61/926,534 filed Jan. 13, 2014;61/926,532 filed Jan. 13, 2014; 61/943,897 filed Feb. 24, 2014;61/943,901 filed Feb. 24, 2014; 61/943,906 filed Feb. 24, 2014; and61/948,192 filed Mar. 5, 2014 which are each incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to a method and computerizedsystem for designing, developing, underwriting, selling and managinginsurance and related products and services, and more particularly, toaggregating and utilizing data for facilitating certain insuranceactions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Smart house functionality is a maturing space, but the opportunity forinsurance companies remains largely untapped. Thus, the terms ofinsurance policies, such as homeowner insurance policies, may not bereflective of the true nature of the risks being insured.

Another maturing space concerns satellite imagery. As the number ofsatellites increases, the more satellite imagery is becoming availableto the public. As a result, satellite imagery systems or image drapedsystems, such as, Google Earth, are becoming more popular. Using GoogleEarth, a user can view satellite imagery, 3D terrain, and GeographicInformation Services (GIS) data such as roads and political boundarieswhich can be stored in a central database. Google Earth can also displayinformation from other public sources.

In this regard, there is utility and functionality to be provided byaggregating smart home functionality with satellite imagery and otherinsurance related data to facilitate rapid decision making processes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose and advantages of the below described illustratedembodiments will be set forth in and apparent from the description thatfollows. Additional advantages of the illustrated embodiments will berealized and attained by the devices, systems and methods particularlypointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well asfrom the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the illustrated embodiments, in one aspect, disclosed is an improvedand efficient insurance data gathering process contingent upon capturedimage and informatics sensor data. The captured image data may be usedto facilitate rapid insurance-related decisions. In regards to adecision to be rendered regarding a property insurance policy (e.g.,insurance policy renewal, obtaining a new insurance policy and receivinga quote for an insurance policy), at least one image is preferablyretrieved which is associated with the property. The retrieved at leastone image may be utilized for property identification purposes. One ormore accounts associated with the insured (e.g., homeowner's insurancepolicy, automobile insurance policy, life insurance policy andinvestment account (401K)) are identified and one or more riskscharacteristics are identified regarding the insured. Preferably, theone or more risks characteristics for the insured are identified viaanalysis of informatic data received from one or more informatic sensordevices associated with the property. The one or more accounts may bemutually exclusive of the insurance policy to which the decision is tobe rendered. An aggregated dataset is provided from the at least oneimage, one or more accounts and risk characteristics associated with theinsured. Predictive analysis is performed on the aggregated dataset torender a risk profile for the insured regarding an insurance policy forthe property. A decision is rendered regarding the insured and theinsurance policy based upon the rendered risk profile.

In another aspect, retrieving the at least one image includesdetermining if an image associated with the property is available from astored location (e.g., a database), and if not, an image associated withthe property is obtained in real time from a camera device.Additionally, it is to be appreciated retrieving at least one image mayinclude determining one or more risk characteristics for the propertyvia analysis of the at least one image and may also include rendering a3D model representative of the property from a retrieved image.

This summary section is provided to introduce a selection of concepts ina simplified form that are further described subsequently in thedetailed description section. This summary section is not intended toidentify key features or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimedsubject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying appendices and/or drawings illustrate variousnon-limiting, example, inventive aspects in accordance with the presentdisclosure:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in accordance withan illustrated embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a network computer device/node in accordance with anillustrated embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an insured property from which sensor datais captured for subsequent analysis in accordance with an illustratedembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a system level diagram illustrating aggregation of data from aplurality of data sources for providing automated propertyinsurance-related processes in accordance with an illustratedembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of operational steps of the policy managermodule of FIG. 3 in accordance with an illustrated embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates policyholder's portable mobile communication devicedisplaying an image of policyholder's insured property for visualidentification purposes in accordance with an illustrated embodiment;

FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary aerial image of policyholder's insuredproperty in accordance with an illustrated embodiment; and

FIG. 7B illustrates an exemplary generated plan view of the roof ofpolicyholder's insured property in accordance with an illustratedembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

The illustrated embodiments are now described more fully with referenceto the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals identifysimilar structural/functional features. The illustrated embodiments arenot limited in any way to what is illustrated as the illustratedembodiments described below are merely exemplary, which can be embodiedin various forms, as appreciated by one skilled in the art. Therefore,it is to be understood that any structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as abasis for the claims and as a representation for teaching one skilled inthe art to variously employ the discussed embodiments. Furthermore, theterms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but ratherto provide an understandable description of the illustrated embodiments.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also beused in the practice or testing of the illustrated embodiments,exemplary methods and materials are now described. All publicationsmentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference to disclose anddescribe the methods and/or materials in connection with which thepublications are cited.

It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, thesingular forms “a”, “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “astimulus” includes a plurality of such stimuli and reference to “thesignal” includes reference to one or more signals and equivalentsthereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth.

It is to be appreciated the illustrated embodiments discussed below arepreferably a software algorithm, program or code residing on computeruseable medium having control logic for enabling execution on a machinehaving a computer processor. The machine typically includes memorystorage configured to provide output from execution of the computeralgorithm or program.

As used herein, the term “software” is meant to be synonymous with anycode or program that can be in a processor of a host computer,regardless of whether the implementation is in hardware, firmware or asa software computer product available on a disc, a memory storagedevice, or for download from a remote machine. The embodiments describedherein include such software to implement the equations, relationshipsand algorithms described above. One skilled in the art will appreciatefurther features and advantages of the illustrated embodiments based onthe above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the illustratedembodiments are not to be limited by what has been particularly shownand described, except as indicated by the appended claims. Allpublications and references cited herein are expressly incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety. For instance, commonly assignedU.S. Pat. Nos. 8,289,160 and 8,400,299 are related to certainembodiments described here and are each incorporated herein by referencein their entirety. This application additionally relates to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/670,328 filed Nov. 6, 2012, which claimscontinuation priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/404,554filed Mar. 16, 2009 which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

As used herein, the term “risk related data” means data or informationthat may be relevant to an insurance company's decisions aboutunderwriting, pricing, and other terms and conditions on which it iswilling to issue insurance policies.

As used herein, the term “insurance policy” refers to a contract betweenan insurer, also known as an insurance company, and an insured, alsoknown as a policyholder, in which the insurer agrees to indemnify theinsured for specified losses, costs, or damage on specified terms andconditions in exchange of a certain premium amount paid by the insured.In a typical situation, when the insured suffers some loss for whichhe/she may have insurance the insured makes an insurance claim torequest payment for the loss. It is to be appreciated for the purpose ofthe embodiments illustrated herein, the insurance policy is not to beunderstood to be limited to a residential or homeowners insurancepolicy, but can be for a commercial, umbrella, and other insurancepolicies known by those skilled in the art.

As also used herein, “insured” may refer to an applicant for a newinsurance policy and/or may refer to an insured under an existinginsurance policy.

As used herein, the term “insurance policy” may encompass a warranty orother contract for the repair, service, or maintenance of insuredproperty.

As used herein, “insured property” means a dwelling, other buildings orstructures, personal property, or business property, as well as thepremises on which these are located, some or all which may be covered byan insurance policy.

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar referencecharacters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIG. 1depicts an exemplary communications network 100 in which belowillustrated embodiments may be implemented.

It is to be understood a communication network 100 is a geographicallydistributed collection of nodes interconnected by communication linksand segments for transporting data between end nodes, such as personalcomputers, work stations, smart phone devices, tablets, televisions,sensors and or other devices such as automobiles, etc. Many types ofnetworks are available, with the types ranging from local area networks(LANs) to wide area networks (WANs). LANs typically connect the nodesover dedicated private communications links located in the same generalphysical location, such as an insured property 300 or campus. WANs, onthe other hand, typically connect geographically dispersed nodes overlong-distance communications links, such as common carrier telephonelines, optical lightpaths, synchronous optical networks (SONET),synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) links, or Powerline Communications(PLC), and others.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example communication network100 illustratively comprising nodes/devices 101-108 (e.g., sensors 102,client computing devices 103, smart phone devices 105, servers 106,routers 107, switches 108 and the like) interconnected by variousmethods of communication. For instance, the links 109 may be wired linksor may comprise a wireless communication medium, where certain nodes arein communication with other nodes, e.g., based on distance, signalstrength, current operational status, location, etc. Moreover, each ofthe devices can communicate data packets (or frames) 142 with otherdevices using predefined network communication protocols as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art, such as various wired protocolsand wireless protocols etc., where appropriate. In this context, aprotocol consists of a set of rules defining how the nodes interact witheach other. Those skilled in the art will understand that any number ofnodes, devices, links, etc. may be used in the computer network, andthat the view shown herein is for simplicity. Also, while theembodiments are shown herein with reference to a general network cloud,the description herein is not so limited, and may be applied to networksthat are hardwired.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an example network computingdevice 200 (e.g., one of network devices 101-108) that may be used (orcomponents thereof) with one or more embodiments described herein, e.g.,as one of the nodes shown in the network 100. As explained above, indifferent embodiments these various devices are configured tocommunicate with each other in any suitable way, such as, for example,via communication network 100.

Device 200 is only one example of a suitable system and is not intendedto suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality ofembodiments of the invention described herein. Regardless, computingdevice 200 is capable of being implemented and/or performing any of thefunctionality set forth herein.

Computing device 200 is operational with numerous other general purposeor special purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with computing device 200include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, servercomputer systems, thin clients, thick clients, hand-held or laptopdevices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set topboxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputersystems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed data processingenvironments that include any of the above systems or devices, and thelike.

Computing device 200 may be described in the general context of computersystem-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executedby a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines,programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Computing device 200 may be practiced in distributed data processingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed dataprocessing environment, program modules may be located in both local andremote computer system storage media including memory storage devices.

Device 200 is shown in FIG. 2 in the form of a general-purpose computingdevice. The components of device 200 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 216, a system memory 228,and a bus 218 that couples various system components including systemmemory 228 to processor 216.

Bus 218 represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Computing device 200 typically includes a variety of computer systemreadable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessibleby device 200, and it includes both volatile and non-volatile media,removable and non-removable media.

System memory 228 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 230 and/or cachememory 232. Computing device 200 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 234 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 218 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 228 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 240, having a set (at least one) of program modules 215,such as policy manager module 306 described below, may be stored inmemory 228 by way of example, and not limitation, as well as anoperating system, one or more application programs, other programmodules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or moreapplication programs, other program modules, and program data or somecombination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 215 generally carry out the functionsand/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as describedherein.

Device 200 may also communicate with one or more external devices 214such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 224, etc.; one or moredevices that enable a user to interact with computing device 200; and/orany devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable computingdevice 200 to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Suchcommunication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces 222. Stillyet, device 200 can communicate with one or more networks such as alocal area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or apublic network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter 220. Asdepicted, network adapter 220 communicates with the other components ofcomputing device 200 via bus 218. It should be understood that althoughnot shown, other hardware and/or software components could be used inconjunction with device 200. Examples, include, but are not limited to:microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external diskdrive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storagesystems, etc.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are intended to provide a brief, general description of anillustrative and/or suitable exemplary environment in which embodimentsof the below described present invention may be implemented. FIGS. 1 and2 are exemplary of a suitable environment and are not intended tosuggest any limitation as to the structure, scope of use, orfunctionality of an embodiment of the present invention. A particularenvironment should not be interpreted as having any dependency orrequirement relating to any one or combination of components illustratedin an exemplary operating environment. For example, in certaininstances, one or more elements of an environment may be deemed notnecessary and omitted. In other instances, one or more other elementsmay be deemed necessary and added.

With the exemplary communication network 100 (FIG. 1) and computingdevice 200 (FIG. 2) being generally shown and discussed above,description of certain illustrated embodiments of the present inventionwill now be provided. With reference now to FIG. 3, an example of aninsured property 300 is shown which is to be understood to be any typeof structure (e.g., residential, commercial, retail, municipal, etc.) inwhich the capture, aggregation and analysis of various data is usefulfor the reasons at least described below. Insured property 300preferably includes a computing device 103 for capturing data from aplurality of sensors 102 which capture data regarding various aspects ofinsured property 300, as further described below. It is to be understoodcomputing device 103 may be located in any location, and its position isnot limited to the example shown.

Computing device 103 is preferably configured and operational to receive(capture) data from various data sources, including various sensors 102,regarding certain aspects (including functional and operational) ofinsured property 300 (described further below) and transmit thatcaptured data to a remote server 106, via network 100. It is noteddevice 103 may perform analytics regarding the captured sensor dataregarding insured property 300 and/or the remote server 106, preferablycontrolled by an insurance company/carrier, may perform such analytics,as also further described below. It is also to be understood in otherembodiments, data from sensors 102 may be transmitted directly to remoteserver 106, via network 100, thus either obviating the need forcomputing device 103 or mitigating its functionality to capture all datafrom sensors 102.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3, computing device 103 is showncoupled to various below described sensor types 102. Although varioussensor types 102 are described below and shown in FIG. 3, the sensortypes described and shown herein are not intended to be exhaustive asembodiments of the present invention may encompass any type of known orunknown sensor type which facilitates the purposes and objectives of thecertain illustrated embodiments described herein. It is to be understoodand appreciated, in accordance with the embodiments herein,sensors/cameras 102 are preferably installed, and data is collected fromvarious sources, maintained, accessed and otherwise utilized pursuant tothe permission of the insured(s) and subject to appropriate security andprivacy protections. Exemplary sensor types include (but are not limitedto):

Temperature sensor—configured and operational to preferably detect thetemperature present at the insured property 300. For example, thetemperature may rise and fall with the change of seasons and/or the timeof day. Moreover, in the event of a fire, the temperature present at theinsured property 300 may rise quickly—possibly to a level of extremehigh heat. The temperature sensor may make use of probes placed atvarious locations in and around the insured property 300, in order tocollect a representative profile of the temperature present at theinsured property 300. These probes may be connected to device 103 bywire, or by a wireless technology. For example, if device 103 ispositioned in the attic of the insured property 300, the temperature maybe higher than the general temperature present in the insured property.Thus, probes placed at various locations (e.g., in the basement, on thevarious levels of a multi-level insured property 300, in different roomsthat receive different amounts of sun, etc.), in order to obtain anaccurate picture of the temperature present at the insured property.Moreover, device 103 may record both the indoor and outdoor temperaturepresent at the insured property 300. For example, data about the indoortemperature, the outdoor temperature, and/or the differential betweenindoor and outdoor temperatures, may be used as part of some analysismodel, and thus all of the different values could be stored. Device 103may store an abstract representation of temperature (e.g., the averageindoor temperature, as collected at all of the probes), or may storeeach temperature reading individually so that the individual readingsmay be provided as input to an analysis model.Humidity sensor—configured and operational to preferably detect thehumidity present at the insured property 300. Humidity sensor maycomprise the humidity-detection hardware, or may employ one or moreremote probes, which may be located inside and/or outside the insuredproperty 300. Humidity readings from one or more locations inside and/oroutside the insured property could thus be recorded by device 103.Water Sensor(s)/Water pressure sensor(s)—configured and operational topreferably monitor water related conditions, including (but not limitedto): the detection of water and water pressure detection, for instancein the plumbing system in the insured property 300. With regards to awater pressure sensor, it may have one or more probes attached tovarious locations of the insured property's 300 plumbing, and thusdevice 103 may record the pressure present in the plumbing, and/or anychanges in that pressure. For example, plumbing systems may be designedto withstand a certain amount of pressure, and if the pressure risesabove that amount, the plumbing system may be at risk for leaking,bursting, or other failure. Thus, device 103 may record the waterpressure (and water flow) that is present in the plumbing system atvarious points in time.Water flow sensor—configured and operational to preferably monitor waterflow rate in the plumbing system in the insured property 300. Water flowsensor may have one or more probes attached to various locations of theinsured property's 300 plumbing, such as faucets, showerheads andappliances, and thus water flow sensor 103 may measure and/or record theamount of water flowing through the insured property's 300 water supplysystem. Thus, device 103 may record the water flow that is present inthe plumbing system at various points in time.Wind speed sensor—configured and operational to record the wind speedpresent at the insured property 300. For example, one or more windsensors may be placed outside the insured property 300, at the windspeed and/or direction may be recorded at various points in time. Device103 may record these wind speed and/or wind direction readings. The windspeed may be used by an analysis model for various purposes.Motion sensor—configured and operational to sense motion in the insuredproperty 300 to which device 300 is attached. Typically, insuredproperty's 300 do not move significantly, except in the event of acatastrophe. Motion sensor may indicate that the insured property 300 issliding down a hill (e.g., in the event of an extreme flood ormudslide), or is experiencing a measurable earthquake. A motion sensormay further include earth sensors for detecting sink holes and earthmovement. In addition, a motion sensor may be configured and operationalto sense the motion of objects within the insured property.Optical (e.g., Camera/Imaging) sensor-configured and operational toallow viewing of the interior or exterior of the insured property 300 onwhich device 300 is attached or located. This sensor may be configuredto allow access during certain triggered events. This may also includepre and post images of any event that would trigger systematic changedetection that is able to compare, contrast and extrapolate differencesin images.Electrical system sensor/analyzer configured and operational to assessthe condition of the insured property's 300 electrical system. Forexample, potentiometers may be connected to various points in theinsured property's 300 electrical system to measure voltage. Readingsfrom the potentiometers could be used to determine if the voltage ispersistently too high, or too low, or if the voltage frequently dropsand/or spikes. Such conditions may suggest that the insured property 300is at risk for fire. Other types of electrical measurements could betaken, such as readings of current flowing through the electricalsystem. Still other types of electrical measurements could be determinedinclude how energy is used and at what times of day it is used, etc. Anytype of data about the insured property's 300 electrical system could becaptured by device 103. An analysis model could use the informationabout electrical energy in various ways.Positional sensor configured and operational to record the position ofdevice 103. For example, the positional sensor may be, or may comprise,a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, which may allow the positionof device 103 to be determined. Or, as another example, positionalsensor may use triangulation technology that communicates with fixedpoints (such as wireless communication towers) to determine itsposition. While as insured property 300 normally does not move,positional sensor may allow device 103 to be recovered in the event of acatastrophe. For example, if as insured property 300 explodes, or isotherwise catastrophically damaged, device 103 may be propelled to anunknown location. Positional sensor may indicate the geographical areaof as insured property 300 which an analysis model could use in variousways. Positional sensor may record the position of device 103, whichdevice 103 could communicate to an external source, thereby allowingdevice 103 to be found.Structural sensor—configured and operational to preferably detectvarious structural conditions relating to insured property 300. Astructural sensor may comprise detection hardware, or may employ one ormore remote probes, which may be located inside and/or outside theinsured property 300. Conditions recorded by structural sensor mayinclude (but are not limited to) the condition of the wall structure,floor structure, ceiling structure and roof structure of insuredproperty 300, which may be achieved via: load bearing detectors;components which measure the slope of a floor/wall/ceiling; carpetconditions (e.g., via nano sensor) or any another components functionalto detect such conditions. Structural readings from one or morelocations inside and/or outside the insured property 300 could thus berecorded by device 103 and used by an analysis model in various ways.Environmental Sensor—configured and operational to preferably detectvarious environmental conditions relating to insured property 300. Anenvironmental sensor may comprise detection hardware, or may employ oneor more remote probes, which may be located inside and/or outside theinsured property 300. Conditions recorded by an environmental sensor mayinclude (but are not limited to) the air quality present in insuredproperty 300, the presence of mold/bacteria/algae/lead paint or anycontaminant adverse to human health (whether airborne or attached to aportion of the structure of insured property 300). Such environmentalreadings from one or more locations inside and/or outside the insuredproperty 300 could thus be recorded by device 103 and used by ananalysis model in various ways.Appliance Sensor—configured and operational to preferably detect variousoperating parameters relating to appliances within as insured property300. Examples of appliances include (but are not limited to) all kitchenappliances (e.g., refrigerator, freezer, stove, cooktop, oven, grill,dishwasher, etc.); HVAC components (air conditioner, heating system, airhandlers, humidifiers/de-humidifiers, etc.), water purification system,media entertainment system (e.g., televisions), networking components(routers, switches, extenders, etc) electrical generator system, poolfiltration and heating system, sump pump and water well system, septictank system, etc. An appliance sensor may comprise detection hardware,or may employ one or more remote probes, which may be located insideand/or outside the insured property 300 functional to detect certainoperating parameters of appliances. Operating parameters detected by anappliance sensor 300 may include (but are not limited to): the operatingefficiency of an appliance (energy usage, output performance); the timean appliance operates, the age of an appliance; maintenance needs of anappliance (e.g., change a filter component or schedule a periodicexamination/tune-up); and repair needs of an appliance (which may alsoinclude the identification of parts needed). Such appliance readingsfrom one or more insured property appliances could thus be recorded bydevice 203 and used by an analysis model in various ways.

With exemplary sensors 102 identified and briefly described above, andas will be further discussed below, it is to be generally understoodsensors 102 preferably record certain data parameters relating toproducts and services provided by an insurance carrier, such as USAA, tofacilitate rapid decision making process as described below. It is to beunderstood and appreciated the aforementioned sensors 102 may beconfigured as wired and wireless types integrated in a networkedenvironment (e.g., WAN, LAN, WiFi, 802.11X, 3G, LTE, etc.), which mayalso have an associated IP address. It is to be further appreciated thesensors 102 may consist of internal sensors located within the structureof insured property 300; external sensors located external of thestructure of insured property 300; sound sensors for detecting ambientnoise (e.g., for detecting termite and rodent activity, glass breakage,intruders, etc.). It is additionally to be understood and appreciatedthat sensors 102 can be networked into a central computer hub (e.g.,device 103) in an insured property to aggregate collected sensor datapackets. Aggregated data packets can be analyzed in either a computersystem (e.g., device 103) or via an external computer environment (e.g.,server 106). Additionally, it is to be understood data packets collectedfrom sensors 102 can be aggregated in computing device 103 and sent asan aggregated packet to server 106 for subsequent analysis whereby datapackets may be transmitted at prescribed time intervals (e.g., a benefitis to reduce cellular charges in that some insured properties 300 maynot have Internet access or cellular service is backup when Internetservice is nonfunctioning).

In accordance with an illustrated embodiment, in addition to theaforementioned, the sensors 102 being utilized relative to insuredproperty 300, computing device 103 may additionally be coupled to aClock 320 which may keep track of time for device 103, thereby allowinga given item of data to be associated with the time at which the datawas captured. For example, device 103 may recurrently detect variousenvironmental conditions relating to insured property 300, recurrentlyobtain captured images of various portions of the structure of insuredproperty 300, etc., and may timestamp each reading and each image. Thetime at which the readings are taken may be used to reconstruct eventsor for other analytic purposes, such as those described below. Forexample, the timestamps on roof images associated with the insuredproperty 300 may be indicative of a roof condition at different momentsin time.

A storage component 322 may further be provided and utilized to storedata readings and/or timestamps in device 103. For example, storagecomponent 322 may comprise, or may otherwise make use of, magnetic oroptical disks, volatile random-access memory, non-volatile random—accessmemory or any other type of storage device. There may be sufficient datastorage capacity to store several days or several weeks worth ofreadings.

A communication component 324 may further be provided and utilized tocommunicate recorded information from computing device 103 to anexternal location, such as computer server 106, which may be associatedwith an insurance carrier such as USAA. Communication component 324 maybe, or may comprise, a network communication card such as an Ethernetcard, a WiFi card, or any other communication mechanism. However,communication component 324 could take any form and is not limited tothese examples. Communication component 324 might encrypt data that itcommunicates, in order to protect the security and/or privacy of thedata. Communication component 324 may communicate data recorded bydevice 103 (e.g., data stored in storage component 322) to an externallocation, such as server 106. For example, server 106 may be operated byan insurance company, and may collect data from computing device 103 tolearn about risks, repair needs and other analytics related to insuredproperty 300 in which device 103 is located. Communication component 324may initiate communication sessions with server 106. Or, as anotherexample, server 106 may contact device 103, through communicationcomponent 324, in order to receive data that has been stored by device103. Additionally, data from sensors 102, other data sources (shown inFIG. 4), clock 320 and/or storage component 322 may be communicateddirectly to server 106, via network 100, thus obviating or mitigatingthe need for computing device 103.

In the example of FIG. 3, communication component 324 (which is shown,in FIG. 3, as being part of, or used by, computing device 103)communicates data to server 106. Server 106 may comprise, or otherwisemay cooperate with, a data analysis module 304, which may analyze datain some manner. Data analysis module 304 may comprise various types ofsub-modules, such as policy manager 306. In general, policy manager 306may perform an analysis of aggregated data regarding various attributesof insured property 300, such as, for example, but not limited to,structural condition of the insured property 300 and environmentalconditions detected in the vicinity of the insured property 300. Inanother aspect, policy manager 306 may be also configured and operableto streamline the end-to-end process (from quote to claim) of insuringusers and/or to facilitate other processes related to an insuranceprofile of a policyholder associated with insured property 300. Server106 may further comprise, or otherwise may cooperate with, a datarepository 310, which may store captured informatics sensor data andobtained image information.

With reference now to FIG. 4, shown is insurance server 106 coupled tocomputing device 103 for receiving data from sensors 102 preferablyrelating to an insured property 300 in accordance with the abovedescription. In addition to being coupled to computing device 103,insurance server 106 is also shown coupled to various image data sources402, external computing devices/servers 410 and an insurance company'sCustomer Relationship Management (CRM) tool/module 404. Network 100, andlinks 105 thereof (FIG. 1), preferably couple server 106 to each of theaforementioned components (e.g., computing device 103, CRM module 404,image data sources 402 and external computing devices 410).

With respect to image data sources 402, they are preferably operativelycoupled to one or more instruments for receiving image data/information408 associated with the insured property 300. Modern techniques forlocating one or more positions relative to objects of interest typicallyinvolve instruments that are used for surveying, geographicalinformation systems data collection, or geospatial data collection. Forexample, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers are oftenused in conjunction with the surveying and geospatial instruments inorder to speed position determination. Digital cameras 406, videocameras 406, multimedia devices, etc. may also be used for surveyingpurposes. The confluence of these systems/devices produces a variety ofimage data 408 that may be contained in one or more image data sources402, such as an image-based georeferencing system, an image database, animage database management system, among others.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the image datasources 402 may contain various views of the insured property 300. Thereare two principal kinds of “views” described herein: elevation view andaerial view. Elevation view in its strict definition means anorthographic rectified representation of a structure, such as insuredproperty 300, usually as viewed from ground level. Cameraimages/photographs not yet rectified for orthographic presentation andnot strictly elevation views, but instead are referred to herein as‘facade views.’ Aerial views are images taken from above the objects ofinterest (i.e., insured property 300), often from airplanes 403, drones405 or satellites 401, and themselves may be rectified or otherwiserendered to become orthographic. However, many image databases show themwithout such rectification, thus often showing the elevation/facades ofbuildings in a foreshortened view. It is appreciated that a plan viewsuch as from a blueprint or engineering drawing also falls into thecategory of aerial views as described herein. It is to be understood andappreciated, one or more image data sources 402 provide image datarelated to the insured property 300 to be aggregated by insurance server106 as discussed further below.

With regards to external computing devices 410, each is preferablyassociated with a service provider relating to an insured property. Forinstance, they may include (but are not limited to) emergency responders(e.g., police, fire, medical, alarm monitoring services, etc.), utilitycompanies (e.g., power, cable (phone, internet, television), water),service providers (e.g., home appliance providers), information/newsproviders (e.g., weather reports and other news items) and other likeservice/information/data providers.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4, in an illustrated embodiment, aninsurance company's CRM module 404, coupled to insurance server 106, maybe operative to enable the insurance company to understand apolicyholder better. For instance, the CRM tool 404 may be operative todetermine if the policyholder has a homeowner's policy, a checkingaccount, a life insurance policy and an investment device. If thispolicyholder has multiple lines of business with the insurance company,the data analysis module 304 may determine the risk profile to be lowerthan another policyholder with a homeowner's policy only. Additionally,the CRM module 404 may be operative to determine the payment history forthe policyholder. This information may be used to determine thepolicyholder's payment history as a data layer for making rating,acceptability, and/or coverage decisions, among others.

FIG. 5 shows, in the form of a flow chart, exemplary operational stepsof the policy manager 306. Before turning to descriptions of FIG. 5, itis noted that the flow diagram shown therein is described, by way ofexample, with reference to components shown in FIGS. 1-4, although theseoperational steps may be carried out in any system and are not limitedto the scenario shown in the aforementioned figures. Additionally, theflow diagram in FIG. 5 shows examples in which operational steps arecarried out in a particular order, as indicated by the lines connectingthe blocks, but the various steps shown in these diagrams can beperformed in any order, or in any combination or sub-combination.

Generally, property insurance is associated with complex rating,underwriting and insurance-to-value processes, which typically requiresubstantial data gathering activities. Typically, most of such datagathering is accomplished through a series of questions that are oftenanswered by the customer. This manual process can be confusing and timeconsuming resulting in poor customer experience. Advantageously, policymanager 306 described herein may be configured to facilitate automateddata gathering/aggregation from multiple sources, including image datasources 402, to streamline the end-to-end process (from quote to claim)of insuring customers. According to various embodiments of the presentinvention, in addition to data gathering and aggregation, policy manager306 is preferably configured to facilitate a variety of propertyinsurance related processes based upon the aggregated data. Theseprocesses include, but are not limited to, underwriting, rebuild costestimation, providing a quote for an insurance policy, issuance andrenewal of an insurance policy, validation of an insurance claim, andthe like.

With reference to FIG. 5, at 502, policy manager 306 preferably starts acomprehensive data gathering related to a policyholder's insuredproperty 300 by requesting a policyholder to provide the propertylocation information. In an embodiment of the present invention, one ofthe service representatives associated with the insurance company andhaving access to the data analysis module 304 may confer with thepolicyholder regarding property's address or geolocation. Such aconference may be via an Internet chat session or a telephone, forexample. Once, the data analysis module 304 obtains the property'saddress or geolocation it may pass the information to policy manager 306via a corresponding message. In another embodiment of the presentinvention, policy manager 306 may receive the geolocation associatedwith the insured property 300 from a positional sensor attached to theinsured property 300. For example, the positional sensor may be, or maycomprise, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, which may allowthe position of insured property 300 to be determined. It should beappreciated that in some embodiments policy manager 306 may beintegrated with other sub-modules within the data analysis module 304,as well as other modules (not shown in FIG. 3), such as a user interfacemodule, that may comprise or may otherwise make use of the insuranceserver 106. Accordingly, the policyholder may interact with the policymanager 306 via such user interface module or via a website hosted by orotherwise maintained by the insurance company.

At 504, in response to acquiring the geographical location of theinsured property 300, policy manager 306 may search the one or moreimage data sources 402 using a query that includes data specifying aprovided geographic location. If a desired image data or imageinformation 408 does not exist in any of the image data sources 402,policy manager 306 may send an image capture request to one or moresurveying instruments, such as satellite 401, camera 406, etc., toobtain a new image of the insured property 300. It is noted thataccording to an embodiment of the present invention one or more views ofthe insured property 300 may be captured in real time. The capturedviews may include, but are not limited to, elevation view, aerial viewand façade view of the insured property 300.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, if the policyholderinteracts with the insurance company representative or website via asmart phone 105 or other portable device, at 506, policy manager 306 maytransmit the retrieved or captured image of the insured property 300 topolicyholder's device for property identification purposes. Cell phones,smart phones 105 and related portable devices typically include adisplay and a keypad. As shown in FIG. 6, an image 602 showing a façadeview of the insured property 300 may be presented to the policyholder onthe smart phone's 105 display, for example. According to anotherembodiment, policy manager 306 may send the image 602 to thepolicyholder via email, for example. By obtaining policyholder'sconfirmation that displayed image 602 corresponds to the policyholder'sinsured property 300, policy manager 306 may proceed with steps 508-514as described below. If at 504 in addition to acquiring a façade viewpolicy manager 306 also received one or more aerial views, such asexemplary satellite image 702 shown in FIG. 7A, policy manager 306 maybe configured to process the satellite image 702, which may include aview of the insured property's roof 704. For example, the policy manger306 may generate a plan view 706 of the roof 704, as shown in FIG. 7B.Thus, according to various embodiments of the present invention, thetime-consuming and error prone data gathering process can advantageouslybe reduced to requesting geolocation information related to the insuredproperty 300 from the policyholder, retrieving the corresponding imagefrom one or more image data sources 402 and receiving policyholder'sconfirmation. It is noted that while the above description is directedto a case in which policy manager 306 utilizes a property image 602 forproperty identification purposes, the present invention is not solimited and other means of property identification are contemplated byvarious embodiments.

Another embodiment at 504 includes taking the aerial imagery from images408 and using the imagery for gathering useful insurance informationabout the insured property 300. For example, and for explanatory purposeonly, the airplane 405 can take high resolution photos of the insuredproperty 300. Algorithms can render those images into 3D models of thehome, use object recognition software to identify exterior construction,roof type, number of windows, and other features of the property. Thesefeatures can be pulled into a tool that will estimate the amount ofinsurance needed on the property.

Another embodiment is that risk characteristics can also be identifiedby the images collected. For example, the images 408 can identify thatinsured property 300 has a tree touching the roof of the insuredproperty. When a tree touches the roof it can cause the roof to wear outquicker. An alert can be sent to the insurance company, the insured, ora 3^(rd) party if a risk like this is identified. Risk characteristicslike this can be used for underwriting, pricing, and acceptability ofthe homeowner policy.

With reference back to FIG. 5, at 508, policy manager 306 preferablyidentifies one or more insurance related processes to be performed viafurther interaction with the policyholder. For example, this step mayinvolve a determination whether the policyholder is interested inrenewing an existing policy, getting a new policy or just obtaining aquote for a new insurance policy covering insured property 300. Oncedetermined, policy manager 306 may proceed to step 510.

At 510, policy manager 306 may collect various data related to theinsured property 300 and/or policyholder. As a non-limiting example, theCRM tool 404 operatively interconnected with policy manager 306 may beoperative to provide additional information about the policyholder. Forinstance, the CRM tool 404 may be operative to determine whether thepolicyholder has a homeowner's policy, a checking account, a lifeinsurance policy and an investment device. If the policyholder hasmultiple lines of business with the insurance company, it may bedetermined that the risk profile may be lower than another policyholderwith a homeowners policy only. Additionally, the CRM may be operative todetermine the payment history for the policyholder. This information maybe used to determine the policyholder's payment history as a data layerfor making rating, acceptability, and/or coverage decisions.

With continuing reference to the aggregating of data in step 510, in anembodiment of the present invention, policy manager 306 preferablycollects data related to a policyholder's surrounding riskcharacteristics. These risk characteristics can be data layers about thepolicyholder's risk in the area the policyholder lives. Examples of therisks that can be known or determined about the insured property 300include, but are not limited to, the hurricane risk, earthquake risk,flood risk, crime risk, wildfire risk, lightning risk, hail risk, andsinkhole risk. Various information related to these risk factors can becaptured by a plurality of sensors 102 described above with reference toFIG. 3. This sensor captured data can add to the information known aboutthe policyholder and the insured property 300 and can be useful topolicy manager 306 for determining pricing, acceptability, underwriting,and policy renewal, among other property insurance related decisions.

Additionally, policy manager 306 preferably collects data related tounstructured data. Unstructured data (also called unstructuredinformation) refers to data with no uniform structure. Unlike structureddata, which is described by explicit semantic data models, unstructureddata lacks such explicit semantic structure necessary for computerizedinterpretation. According to an embodiment of the present invention,policy manager 306 could collect unstructured data from social networks,such as Facebook and Twitter. For instance, based on the geolocationinformation obtained at 502, policy manager 306 may determine that theinsured property 300 is situated in a wildfire prone area. Furthermore,a community in this high wildfire area may organize wildfire preventionand mitigation efforts by means of social media coordination. The policymanager 306 and/or other modules hosted by the insurance server 106 canmonitor the social media sites and may know that this community isorganizing and utilizing wildfire loss mitigation techniques. This datacould be used by policy manager 306 along with the other aggregatedinformation about the policyholder and/or the insured property 300 tomake various types of decisions and/or enable the provision of certainproducts/services such as those that can be offered by an insurancecarrier. Also, policy manager 306 may determine that the aforesaidwildfire community is not giving out the latest wildfire scienceinformation to the community members. Accordingly, policy manager 306may provide to the policyholder the latest information related towildfire science mitigation techniques.

It should be appreciated that policy manager 306 may store the capturedinformatics data and retrieved image data in the data repository 310(which is shown, in FIG. 3, as being part of, or used by, insuranceserver 106). The data repository 310 may comprise a database or anyother suitable storage component. For example, the suitable storagecomponent may comprise, or may otherwise make use of, magnetic oroptical disks, volatile random-access memory, non-volatile random—accessmemory or any other type of storage device.

With continuing reference to the step 510, in an embodiment of thepresent invention, policy manager 306 optionally selectively filtersaggregated data based on the type of processes need to be performedand/or based on type of decisions need to be made. The main idea behindthis aspect of the present invention is that policy manager 306 mayselectively filter out any non-relevant data before sending the data tomore predictive models described below, based on the context of theparticular decision. In an embodiment of the present invention, datafiltering feature may be implemented based on filtering rules predefinedby the insurance company.

At 512, policy manager 306 preferably performs one or more processesidentified at step 508 using the aggregated data in order to provideservices/products desired by the policyholder. Examples of the servicesfacilitated by policy manager 306 may include, without limitation,providing a quote for an insurance policy insuring the insured property300, issuing a new insurance policy for the insured property 300,renewing the policyholder's property insurance policy associated withthe insured property 300, validating an insurance claim associated withthe insured property 300 if actual loss occurs, generating an insuranceto value (ITV) estimate, and the like. In addition, prior to providing aquote, issuing and/or renewing an insurance policy, for example, policymanager 306 may conduct a rigorous underwriting process to evaluaterisks associated with the insured property 300. It should be appreciatedthat policy manager 306 may utilize aggregated data, including imagedata, to perform the aforesaid processes. For instance, policy manager306 may use one or more images provided by the one or more image datasources 402 to conduct a virtual inspection of the policyholder'sinsured property 300. As another example, if the policyholder isinterested in initiating a hail damage claim against his/her insurancepolicy, policy manager 306 may evaluate an image, such as image 702shown in FIG. 7A depicting the roof 704 of the insured property 300, toevaluate the extent of the damage, provided that the image 702 wascaptured after the date the hail was reported. As yet anothernon-limiting example, policy manager 306 may utilize image data forinsurance renewal purposes. More specifically, prior to issuing arenewal policy, policy manager 306 may transmit an image capture requestto one or more surveying instruments, such as satellite 401, camera 406,etc. to obtain a real-time aerial image of the insured property 300. Inaddition, policy manager 306 may retrieve a previously taken aerialimage of the insured property 300 that may be associated, for example,with policyholder's expiring policy. By analyzing and comparing thesetwo images policy manager 306 may be capable of determining anystructural changes, structural damage, etc. related to the insuredproperty 300. It should be appreciated that the specific examples ofimage data utilization that are discussed above by no means constitutean exhaustive list.

With continuing reference to the step 512, policy manager 306 preferablyutilizes one or more predictive models to rapidly perform one or moreinsurance related process and/or to provide insurance related servicesidentified at 508. Predictive modeling generally refers to techniquesfor extracting information from data to build a model that can predictan output from a given input. Predicting an output can includeperforming analysis to predict an occurrence of a certain peril, such asearthquake or hurricane, to name a few examples. Various types ofpredictive models can be used to analyze data and generate predictiveoutputs. Examples of predictive models include, but are not limited to,Naive Bayes classifiers, linear and logistic regression techniques,support vector machines, neural networks, memory-based reasoningtechniques, and the like. Typically, a predictive model is trained withtraining data that includes input data and output data that mirror theform of input data that will be entered into the predictive model andthe desired predictive output, respectively. The amount of training datathat may be required to train a predictive model can be large. It isnoted that different types of predictive models may be used by policymanager 306 depending on the type of the service/product provided and/ortype of captured informatics sensor or image data.

It should be appreciated that some comprehensive insurance relateddecisions may be made by aggregating results provided by the one or morepredictive models. For instance, to recalculate a coverage amount or apremium of the property-insurance policy, policy manager 306 mayaggregate results provided by various models and available unstructureddata that predict risks associated with hurricane risk, earthquake risk,flood risk, crime risk, wildfire risk, lightning risk, hail risk,sinkhole risk, and the like.

At 514, policy manager 306 preferably provides results to users via, forexample, the aforementioned user interface module or website.Alternatively, policy manager 306 may store the generated results in thedata repository 310.

Advantageously, policy manager 306, fully integrated with other modulesand various data sources described above, provides an improved,efficient and streamlined data gathering process that is contingent upondynamically captured image and informatics sensor data. In anotheraspect, policy manager 306 may also provide for “one click” process tofacilitate a rapid insurance-related action. This “one click” processcan quickly provide the policyholder a quote on, for example and notlimited to, a homeowner or auto insurance policy. According to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention, policy manager 306preferably aggregates and filters the information about the policyholderand/or a corresponding property using the ways illustrated above, andthe policyholder either only has to provide very little or no additionalinformation about their home or car. This can significantly expedite thequote process. For example, policy manager 306 can solicit a homeownerspolicy to the policyholder, the policyholder can see a picture of theirhome on a mobile phone (such as image 602 displayed on smart phonedevice 105 in FIG. 6) with all the home characteristics alreadyprovided. The policyholder would only need to select “buy” and they havepurchased their home insurance.

With certain illustrated embodiments described above, it is to beappreciated that various non-limiting embodiments described herein maybe used separately, combined or selectively combined for specificapplications. Further, some of the various features of the abovenon-limiting embodiments may be used without the corresponding use ofother described features. The foregoing description should therefore beconsidered as merely illustrative of the principles, teachings andexemplary embodiments of this invention, and not in limitation thereof.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are onlyillustrative of the application of the principles of the illustratedembodiments. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may bedevised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope ofthe illustrated embodiments, and the appended claims are intended tocover such modifications and arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sensor system comprising: a plurality of sensordevices each configured to capture data of a different attribute of aproperty, each sensor device having a transmitter configured to coupleto a network for transmitting the captured property attribute data viathe network, the plurality of sensor devices including: a first cameradevice configured to capture a first digital image of an elevationalview of the property; a second camera device configured to capture asecond digital image of an aerial or a facade view of the property; anda structural sensor device for capturing structural condition datarelating to one or more structural conditions associated with theproperty; a data storage component coupled to each of the plurality ofsensors devices via the network, wherein the data storage component isconfigured to aggregate captured data regarding different attributes ofthe property received from each of the sensor devices, the captured dataincluding the first digital image, the second digital image, and thestructural condition data; a communication component coupled to the datastorage component configured to: encrypt the aggregated captured data;and transmit the aggregated captured encrypted data via the Internet;and a computer management module coupled to the communication component,via the Internet, and programmed to: receive the aggregated encrypteddata from the communication component regarding the attributes of theproperty; render a three-dimensional model representative of theproperty utilizing the first and second digital images captured from thefirst camera device and the second camera device respectively and thestructural condition data captured by the structural sensor device,wherein the three-dimensional model provides visual indications offeatures of the property; identify risk characteristics for the propertybased on a predictive analysis performed using the three-dimensionalmodel to determine interactions between the features of the property;transmit the three-dimensional model and the identified riskcharacteristics for the property to a user device for display.
 2. Thesystem as recited in claim 1, wherein the user device is a smartphonedevice.
 3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the features of theproperty include exterior constructions features of the property.
 4. Thesystem as recited in claim 1, wherein the features of the propertyinclude roof construction features of the property.
 5. The system asrecited in claim 1, wherein the features of the property includeindication of a number of windows associated with the property.
 6. Thesystem as recited in claim 1, wherein the features of the propertyinclude proximity indication of nature elements relative to theproperty.
 7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the networkcoupled to the plurality of sensor devices is a Wide Area Network (WAN).8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network coupled to theplurality of sensor devices is a Cellular Network.
 9. The system asrecited in claim 1, wherein the communication component is configured asone of an Ethernet card or Wi-Fi card.